LESSON 1 June 29 to July 5
I A Morn EaDof 4nu5tacil
"There was a man in the land of Uz,
yhose name was Job; and that man
yas perfect and upright, and one that
eared God, and eschewed evil" (Job
:1).
The book of Job is the story of a man.
t is biography at its best, penned by
doses during his years of shepherding
n Midian.
"As an educator no part of the Bible
s of greater value than are its
)iographies. These biographies differ
rom all others in that they are
absolutely true to life. It is impossible
or any finite mind to interpret rightly,
n all things, the workings of another.
Jone but He who reads the heart, who
liscerns the secret springs of motive
Ind action, can with absolute truth
lelineate character, or give a faithful
Acture of a human life. En God's word
done is found such
lelineation."—Education, p. 146.
The man Job is more than an
?mbodiment of human suffering. His
;rief was an episode in a long life of
;oodness. The opening verse of the
)ook introduces us to this man and
;ives us a glimpse of his character.
First, the text tells us that he was
'perfect." "This word does not
iecessarily imply absolute
inlessness. It signifies, rather,
:ompleteness, integrity, sincerity, but
n a relative sense. The man who is
perfect' in the sight of God is the man
who has reached the degree of
Jevelopment that Heaven expects of
aim at any given time. The Hebrew
word
tam
is equivalent to the Greek
eleios,
which is often translated
perfect' in the NT but which is better
ranslated 'full grown' or
mature.'
"—S.D.A. Bible
:ommentary,
vol. 3, p. 499. Job's later
experiences revealed that he had not
-eached the ultimate of character; he
was a mature but a growing child of
God.
Second, the text says he was
"upright." The word means
"straight," "level," "just," "right."
There was nothing dishonest or
reprehensible in this man's life-style.
Third, the text says he "feared
God." He was not an Israelite. He had
not enjoyed the background of divine
revelation through Abraham, Isaac,
and Jacob, but he knew the true God
and worshiped Him.
Finally, Job "eschewed evil." The
Good News Bible translates it well:
"He was a good man, careful not to do
anything evil" (Job 1:1, TEV). This
characterization was not just the
opinion of the author of the book.
When the Lord accosted Satan, He
said, "Hast thou considered my
servant Job, that there is none like him
in the earth, a perfect and an upright
man, one that feareth God, and
escheweth evil?" (Job 1:8).
The character of Job cannot be fully
appreciated without reading chapters
29 through 31. These chapters recall
Job's evaluation of his own life before
misfortune struck. He tells us of his
manner of life in those happy days of
his prosperity. And we have every
reason to believe that his
self-evaluation was correct. Therefore
we will study chapters 29 through 31 in
this lesson to develop some of the
characteristics of this great and good
man as they are reflected in his
reminiscences.
DAILY HIGHLIGHTS
1.
A Man Respected
(Job 29:8-11)
2.
Humble and Honest
(Job 31:5-8)
3.
Faithful to His Wife
(Job 31:9, 10)
4.
Concerned About the Poor
(Job 31:16-22)
5.
Not Ruined by Riches
(Job 31:24-28)
6.
Loving His Enemies
(Job 31:29, 30)